Six Pieces of Advice to Stop you Quitting the Gym
Have you paid your gym membership three months in advance to try and stop you from quitting the gym? If this sounds similar to your situation, then you’ll enjoy this article! We’re giving you some tricks to keep going to the gym and fulfill your fitness goals.
Good advice to keep you from quitting the gym
So, you’ve signed up for a gym, paid for the whole month, bought workout clothes, and got to class early. But that initial enthusiasm has disappeared after a few days. Yes, one day was a bit cold, there was some rain, or your weight didn’t change quite as you had expected.
Also read: Working Out at Home Using Household Items
There are lots of reasons – and excuses – that people give for quitting the gym. If it’s happened to you, or it’s about to happen to you, we’ll give you some strategies to keep up with your exercise program. Most of all, remember that exercise has a lot of positive benefits for your physical and mental health.
1- Set realistic goals for yourself
When you start going to the gym, you’re very enthusiastic. You might imagine that after a whole week of sweating it out at the gym, you’ll have lost all of that extra weight. If weight gain, on the other hand, is your objective, you might fantasize about how you’ll look even more muscular than Arnold Schwarzenegger, (at his peak, that is).
However, when you have goals that take a long time to complete, it’s easy to lose motivation. Because of that, a good way to stay on the path of exercise is to set goals for yourself that are easily attainable.
This doesn’t mean you should set your sights low and be satisfied with weak results. Instead, the best thing to do is to take things step by step until you get to the ultimate goal. For example, if you want to lose 40 pounds, you can set goals of dropping a pound per week.
2- Maximize your exercise time at the gym
If you’re under a very tight schedule (which happens to all of us these days), don’t waste time when you’re at the gym. This means that you should go, get to your routine right away, and avoid losing focus. It’s good to socialize a bit, but don’t have a half-hour conversation without doing anything, either.
If you do that, you’ll come to find out that when you look at the clock and see it’s time to go, you won’t have accomplished what you set out to do. The consequence of this is that you won’t meet your objectives and you might end up quitting the gym in disappointment. Remember that the primary reason for going to the gym is to get some exercise.
3- Vary your routine
The word “routine” sounds a little boring and monotonous. It’s also counterproductive to your goals at the gym. That’s because going through the same exercises causes your muscles to get used to them and doesn’t make them grow or become stronger.
You should have a personal trainer modify your routine every couple of weeks. You might also choose to do new exercises entirely or take different classes. Don’t base all of your physical activity on one single discipline or you’ll end up getting bored.
4- Pick a gym that’s close to home
Believe it or not, a gym’s distance from a person’s home or office is proportional to the rate at which they’re likely to quit the gym. That’s no surprise. If you’ve got a place that’s one street away from your house, it’ll be easier than if it’s half an hour away and you have to take the bus or look for a parking spot.
The good news is that there are gyms everywhere these days. You can even find them in places surrounded by business offices. Take advantage of your lunch hour or go to the gym right after work. You can also choose a gym that’s on the way to your house or to a bus station where you have to wait for a bus.
5. Hang out with active people
Aside from going to the gym with your friend, romantic other, or a workmate, another great way to keep from quitting the gym is surrounding yourself with people who are sporty or active. They don’t have to be professional athletes, but they should like to work out. That way you’ll spread enthusiasm for a healthy lifestyle among each other.
6. Pick music that you enjoy
Running on the treadmill or lifting weights can be a little boring and even “robotic.” That’s why we recommend that you make yourself a good playlist on your cell phone. That way you’ll enjoy your favorite music while you work out. Some people even listen to audiobooks or watch an episode of a TV series they enjoy.
If you’ve made the commitment to go to the gym, remember that you have a lot to gain. You might not be the most active person, but if you seek, you’ll find a workout routine you’ll love.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
Agualimpia, Y. A. S., & Henao, M. N. A. (2014). Factores motivacionales que influyen en la adherencia a la actividad física en los usuarios del Gimnasio Zona Fitness. VIREF Revista de Educación Física.